Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: Hervor and Heidrek, Hrólf Kraki and His Champions

by Jackson Crawford (Translator)

Inherited through the line of the berserker Angantýr and his war-loving daughter Hervor, the ever-lethal, shining sword Tyrfing and its changes of hands frame the uncanny story of The Saga of Hervor and Heiđrek. A second heroic saga, Hrólf Kraki and His Champions, recounts the daring deeds of the members and entourage of the ancient Danish house of Skjoldung. Passed down orally in pre-Christian Norse times, transmitted in writing in medieval Iceland, and here wielded by the hand of Jackson Crawford, the tales told in this volume retain their sharp edges and flashes of glory that never fail to slay.  

Genres: Mythology, History, Classics, Folk Tales, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Noah Goats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read and enjoyed several of the sagas this year, but I think these two are my favorites (although I also really enjoyed The Saga of Grettir the Strong). The two sagas included in this volume are packed with legendary heroes, monsters, supernatural horror, swords that cannot be sheathed without tasking blood, treachery, cunning, and strong women who are more than capable of putting men in their place. Crawford's translations are excellent, breathing life into the ancient texts and maintaining the clarity and excitement that I imagine the original authors must have intended.

[Michael Astfalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Crawford has for the most part been by introduction to Norse literature and has helped me (I think) dip below the surface-level of Norse mythology. I have found his translations to be very readable and accessible and should be useful no matter how much background knowledge the reader has on the mythology and language. The sagas themselves are fantastic, detailing exciting stories and interesting concepts whose influence can still be seen in more modern fantasy and fiction.

[Tom Fordham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can always rely on the sagas to get me out of a reading slump. This is the fourth book of Crawford's work I've read and I love his translations. It was fun to read a new saga in Hervor and Heidrek, a deeply mystical saga that captured my imagination. It was also lovely to revisit one of my favourites after a long while in Hrolf Kraki and His Champions. I always had a deep seated admiration for Bodvar Bjarki and even more so now, not to mention his similarities to Beowulf. Jackson has made both these sagas come alive and they're definitely important sagas within the tradition. I reccomend this to all that are interested in Tolkien as you'll see some of the inspirations behind Riddles In The Dark and the one ring.

[Nathan Ridings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally enjoy Crawford’s translation style. He always brings an easily readable translation for a modern American English speaking audience. While I do wish he provided translations of personal names, I overall find the translations pleasant. I tend to bypass his introductions as they tend to be lengthy and rambling. Given he does not believe in the old ways I also don’t value his takes on the sagas as much as those deeply rooted to their ancestral belief systems. A minor complaint, and I think Crawford does a valuable service for those of us on this side of the pond trying to connect with the old ways of belief.

[Parker’s Dad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jackson Crawford is a superb translator and has a great talent for making stories over a thousand years old both readable in modern English and true to the source material. Would highly recommend any of his translations.

[Stephanie Fachiol]

A fun collection, if not very deep. The parallels to Arthuriana are fascinating in the latter saga; the former is an interesting look at a villain protagonist.

[Nathaniel Eberlein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two lesser-known legends about brave men and women who face curses, magic artifacts, shapeshifters, and generational trauma. Like all the Icelandic sagas, the stories do not end well for their protagonists.
The author renders the translated texts into accessible essentials for contemporary readers. An extensive introduction with notes regarding the translation point the inquiring mind to further textual and cultural context.

[S.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid follower of Dr. Jackson Crawford's YouTube channel for the past three(ish) years, as well as having a fascination with the saga character, Hervor, I was naturally very excited when his latest translation was announced: Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek) and Hrólfs saga kraka ok kappa hans (The Saga of Hrólf Kraki and His Champions). While admittedly I had not heard much of anything about Hrólf Kraki, I am always eager to read new sagas.

I am no professional in Old Norse language or saga literature, so I cannot attest to the quality of the translation compared to the original texts. However, having read the only two other professionally published English translations of The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek (Chadwick, 1921, and C. Tolkien, 1960) I can safely say Crawford's stands above the rest in terms of readability and clarity. Not only does he provide a full translation of the R manuscript (believed to be the oldest of the varying manuscripts of this saga), he adds the first chapter of the Hauksbók (H) manuscript as an appendix. Considering the first chapter is notably different between manuscripts, this was a welcome addition.

As I had never read a translation of The Saga of Hrólf Kraki and His Champions, I cannot comment on how it even compares to other English translations, let alone the original text, but I found this saga to be a delightful and entertaining saga, and a fitting companion to Hervor and Heidrek. The formatting of the saga makes it easy to follow, and Crawford's easily approachable prose adds to its clarity, allowing even casual readers to understand and enjoy the action.

If I had one gripe about this collection, it would be that the Introduction (by Crawford himself) is slimmer than I would have liked. It is an entirely appropriate length, but I personally want to know everything that can be revealed about the sagas, to an unreasonable degree. I believe most readers will find the Introduction satisfying, however, and there are still essays and copies of the other translations (with their own introductions) on these sagas that are readily available for free online.

All in all, this collection does not disappoint, and in fact lives up to the astounding work typical of Crawford in his objective to deliver translations (and information, via his YouTube channel) that are easily digestible and accurate.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful translation from old Norse to English, this book holds two sagas as well as some interesting explanatory notes. The sagas seem to be the storied histories of some pseudo-mythological/historical noble families and some important associates of said families.

The introduction is a fascinating note about linguistics and cultural aspects of note and indeed was as good as the stories themselves. Fans of language and culture aught to enjoy Crawfords ideas here.

Like most 21st century readers, the names are all a blur and it was very easy to get hopelessly confused on who was who. This meant that some sections were much more enjoyable than others: in general I liked the sections that were a close snap shot on an individual actor and I rather disliked the sections that zoomed out where generations would come and go in short paragraphs. I probably best liked the stories of Hervor (also known as Hervard), Heidrek, and Bodvar. Hervor has a natural charm, what with her running around and making demands of the undead, Heidrek is fun in how he deliberately goes against the good advice he was given just for something to do, and how could one not adore the winding tale of Bodvar and his strange brothers. In general, the stories are quick easy reads with some fun that is often delightfully bloody and macabre at times and then at other times rather boring. As long as you can deal with the boring parts there is plenty of charm in these elder stories.

The appendix was a fascinating side story that rather makes me want to find more of this apparently over redacted material. It reads as more Astatro than some of the actual sagas and would fit in delightfully with the eddas I think.


In conclusion, if you like stories of bold men and women carrying around legendary swords while bathing the kingdoms of the lands in blood and havoc, here is a book for you! There is also some Nordic mythology, though less than the eddas. Overall I’d recommend this book for fans if history, speculative fiction, mythology, and especially those that want to read more Nordic/Germanic mythology.

[Gregory Amato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy readers will find a lot of familiarity in these two sagas. Magic swords (cursed and not), magic, monsters, mysterious forests, and a high-stakes game of riddles, just to name a few things. Famous heroes, terrible villains, high adventure-that sort of thing.

Dr. Crawford provides translations that are easy to read as stories, the way they would have been told long ago. I know some people think a translation isn't a translation unless half of each page is taken up by footnotes proving one's scholarly musculature. If that is your preference, you should pass on this edition. It does not provide foot- or end-notes, This edition targets people who might read these stories as stories, the same way they would read The Hobbit. That's a welcome approach in many respects, and I hope it exposes more people to how awesome the legendary Norse sagas are and how much modern fantasy relies on them.

Despite the lack of in-text notation, Dr. Crawford does provide commentary and analysis on both texts in the introduction. There is a (mercifully) brief explanation that three manuscripts of this story exist, and each manuscript differs at least a little bit, for example. I would have loved to see more commentary in the section "Men and Women in the Sagas," but that might need to be its own publication.

I am not a speaker of Old Norse, so my rating can't be considered a review of the accuracy of the translations. I enjoy these ancient stories for the telling of them and wonder how different their earlier versions were. Early, like before commentary was added to denounce all seidr as "evil magic" or to backhand Hrolf Kraki by saying he was ignorant of his creator. If you like reading early fantasy stories too, I very much recommend this.

[Roel Twen Karstenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The (must-read) prologue was chock-full of information pertinent to understanding both Norse myth as well as the Christian framing through which the Saga of Hrólf Kraki especially was told. In it, the brave heroes are more so maltheists or even misotheists, than pagan faithful, whose values align with medieval Christianity avant la lettre (in Scandinavia, that is). This makes the juxtaposition with the Saga of Hervor and Heidrek all the more poignant, for less adulterated echoes of that heathen time are apparent in this tale through the status of the eponymous shield-maiden and the depiction of heroism among others. This is not to say that I prefer either saga over the other, only that their pairing was an inspired choice that I commend.

The work is a short read, but a worthwhile one for those interested in this time and region. I will say that the prose can be dry and the worldbuilding sparse, so if one delves into these sagas expecting the equivalent of a modern fantasy novel they will be sorely disappointed. As explained in the prologue, Crawford stuck close to a line by line translation with certain small liberties taken to make the work more legible for a modern audience. A faithful translation was precisely what I wished and expected to read, so I rate this work a 5 out of 5.

[Justin Forseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hervor and Heidrek was more enjoyable the 1st go round because it felt like a much more cohesive narrative. The mystical connection between the names across multiple generations was fascinating and poachable. However, reading the introductions regarding Hrolf Kraki before and after my reading of the actual saga cemented my interest in reading the extant literature. Knowing and being reminded of the strong relation between Bodavar Bjorki and the much more famous danish legend of Beowulf was fascinating to me. And I have placed chapter 2 of Saxo Gramaticus's History of the Danes on my shelf to compare the Norse tradition of Hrolf Kraki with the Danish counterpart of Rolvo

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not really rating the saga itself, but rather the translation. I have always appreciated Jackson Crawford's approach to translation. The introduction, explanation of translation choices, glossary, and analysis are all very much appreciated. If you are going to read these sagas I think this is the translation I would recommend.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story of Hervor and Heidrek and the story behind the sword Tyrfing. I originaly bought this book because of that tale and discovered the story of Hrólf Kraki and his Champions along the way and I was pleasantly surprised. A really nice translation.

[Christopher Bergedahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific translation by Dr. Crawford.

[Sydney Sartori · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s an enjoyable adventure book!

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dont drink anymore but if i did, id drink heavily with Bodvar.

[Adán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es curioso ver la diferencia de estilo entre las dos sagas, incluso siendo esta una traducción. También mola ver una de las sagas que inspiró a Tolkien a la hora de escribir su obra.

[Chrissy Kellogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to find in "Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks" the inspiration for so much of Tolkien's work, and I have to wonder if the sword Tyrfing is the cultural genesis of J.K. Rowling's Elder Wand.

"Hrólfs saga kraka", on the other hand, is the Norse telling of "Beowulf" and thus somewhat interesting.

[Cendikiawan Suryaatmadja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Translation By: Jackson Crawford

Definitely not the translator’s fault, but this was mind-numbing

[Vicki Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you are already an avid fan of the sagas, or a first-time reader, "Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: Hervor and Heidrek and Hrolf Kraki and His Champions," translated by Jackson Crawford, will appeal to anyone with an appreciation for a well-told adventure tale. As with his translations of the "Poetic Edda" and the "Saga of the Volsungs," Dr. Crawford offers here a fresh and highly readable translation of two action-packed and compelling Old Norse narratives. With caustic wit, wry humor, pointed sarcasm and raw grit, the heroes and heroines of these sagas enact the family dramas, betrayals, and dauntless heroism that typify the genre and make for engaging and entertaining reading. Warrior maidens and witch queens, unlikely heroes and oath-swearers, trolls of various shapes, swords of dubious reputation, and the timely interventions and clever subterfuges of the One-Eyed One himself, "Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes" features all that is best in saga literature. Wrought in accessible modern English that conveys the economy of language, terseness, and often laconic tone that characterizes Old Norse literature, "Two Sagas" also successfully captures the poetry and alliteration of verse that denotes the careful crafting of these works. A thoroughly satisfying read.

[Ghost Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

4.5/10
-direct translation of two stories
-long, detailed intro giving background into translation
-comparison between viking and medieval style of writing
-Hervor and Heidrek is about the sword Tyrfing, passed down through generations with revolving characters
-Hrolf Kraki is more story-like and brings people and events full circle